After a successful spring run at The Questors earlier this year, the company are performing an adapted version of Aphra Behn's The Rover at the Minack Theatre on the cliffs of Porthcurno in Cornwall.

There will be seven performances at Minack from 6-10 September. The production will then move on for a performance at a European Festival of Drama in Postonja, Slovenia in early October.

The Rover is a play that laments the fate of women in a male-dominated world where the female of the species is expected to know her place

You've probably guessed that it was written by a woman with a point to make about gender relations.

What may come as a surprise is that her play was first performed in 1677.
The identity of the playwright, Aphra Behn, is just one reason why The Rover stands out from other Restoration comedies.

The play had an obvious appeal to a contemporary audience. There were clear parallels with the experiences of the recently exiled King Charles II and his supporters, and its alternative title was The Banish'd Cavaliers.

The King is said to have commissioned a private performance, and was evidently delighted. Behn had previously worked as a spy for Charles, and turned to writing only when he failed to pay her!

The play is set during the 1650s when Cromwell was in power, and follows the fortunes of a group of Cavaliers who flee abroad after losing their lands and their position in society.

Living a life of debauchery, they seek adventure and the company of women. The play finds them in Italy, enjoying the pleasures of the carnival, and the flesh. It is a world away from the puritanical England of Cromwell.

The Rover may have been written as a comedy, but amid the laughs there are some dark themes involving prostitution and rape.

Behn knew that in the world of the Restoration, a woman had limited options. If she could not find a wealthy husband, she ran the risk of being packed off to a nunnery. The only alternative was to embrace the life of a courtesan. This depiction of 17th women has made Behn an icon for modern-day feminists.

So who is The Rover of the title?

Surely it is Willmore, an English naval captain and rake looking to enjoy his shore leave in the time-honoured way of mariners who have a girl in every port.

And yet you can apply the same description to Hellena, a young woman who wants to experience love before she is sent off to a nunnery by her brother. Arguably, she is the one taking the greater risks by departing from the conventions of the day.

All that really matters is that the roving eyes of the couple connect, and they fall in love. But a famous courtesan swears revenge on Willmore for betraying her, amid a variety of complications in a multi-layered plot.
Our version of the play is set in Venice. The female characters hide their identity behind their carnival masks. They are free to cross social boundaries, and act out roles; they can indulge in the kind of behaviour that would normally be impossible for a woman.

This is a rare chance to see a work by this country's first successful female writer. Don't miss it either in early September at Minack on the cliffs of Porthcurno, or in early October near the famous caves of Postonja.


Book your tickets direct with the Minack Theatre:
Box Office: http://www.minack.com/theatregoers/boxoffice.htm
Online: http://www.minack.com/theatregoers/online.htm